Proctor’s gamble paying off at NFR

LAS VEGAS – For the fourth time in five nights, Coleman Proctor and Jake Long have cashed in at the Las Vegas casino known as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

On Tuesday night, the team ropers stopped the clock in 5.5 seconds to take the last paying spot in the sixth go-round, earning $3,065 for sixth place. They have only missed the pay window on two nights so far, and four rounds remain in the 2014 season.

Coleman Proctor

“It’s been a great week,” said Proctor of Pryor, Okla. “I’m really excited and happy with our average position. Things are starting to take shape.”

They are. Coleman and Long, of Coffeyville, Kan., are No. 3 in the average race with a cumulative time of 32.3 seconds on five qualified times – they finished with a no-time on opening night. They have earned more than $41,000 at the NFR and around $117,000 in 2014 and sit fifth in the world standings.

“Tonight I didn’t do a good job,” he said. “My rope ran around my (saddle) horn as Jake was trying to heel. I thought I was in a good place right when I was coming back up the wall. When I put more rope between me and the steer, it put me going straight into the wall when Jake heeled.

“Jake pulled off a phenomenal shot. I didn’t get that steer handled as good as I needed to, but he did a great job once again.”

It helps to have a great partner, and Proctor has one in his longtime friend. They began roping together as youngsters.

“I think the bottom line is we have the great chemistry,” Proctor said. “We never have to talk about it; we always know where the other one will be.”

When chemistry works, the reaction is explosive. The race to the world championship is well within their grasp.